The Secret Trinity Unearth (24 page)

When I woke up I could tell it was just past dawn as a mere pinch of light tried to pierce through the closed blinds. I had only slept for an hour or two, but my head was pounding forcing me awake. My eyes felt so puffy I could only see through tiny slits as I sat up. Someone had put a blanket over me. I presume it was Clay; he was becoming more puzzling by the minute. My best guess was that I brought out the bipolar in him. I could make out Clay’s face on the lounge chair. I thought his eyes were closed with his head slightly slumped over, asleep. I slowly got up and tip-toed to the bathroom.

As I closed the bathroom door and clicked on the light I was momentarily blinded. When my eyes adjusted I took a few moments before feeling strong enough to look in the mirror. I looked even more horrifying than I had anticipated. My eyes were the size of golf balls. I wanted to curl up on the floor and cry and not have to look at my dismal face for the rest of my pathetic, sad life. But the tears would not come. I was all cried out. The only thing that remained was the hole in my heart, and I was not sure if that would ever heal.

I shook it off and grabbed a washcloth from the linen cupboard. I soaked it in ice cold water, and rested the washcloth over my eyes attempting to de-puff them. I stripped down and warmed up the shower to scolding hot before jumping in. The bathroom filled with steam as the hot water pounded on my shoulders.

The water at my feet was pink at first, washing the blood from my hair. I stood there watching as it slowly turned clear washing away my New Year’s Eve of agony. I took my time trying to relax. I did not want to let Liam rule my head or make me fear a simple shower. I finished washing up and wrapped up in a towel before stepping out.

The bathroom mirror was covered with steam and I wiped one streak away to brave another look. Much better, the streaks of make-up had washed away leaving clean skin, and my hair hid the sealed bump on my head. A rough knock at the door made me jump.

I knew who would be on the other side. Even though the towel was bigger than most dresses I wear, it made me feel vulnerable. I opened the door a tiny crack and Clay was standing there holding a black duffle bag.

He had showered as well, his raven bangs were swept across his forehead dripping water in his eyes. He was in a clean, slate grey t-shirt and dark jeans but the five o’clock shadow remained on his face. The way his dark stubble and black hair framed his light colored eyes made them look even more strikingly azure than before.

“Some of your clothes, toothbrush and… what-nots,” he said holding out the duffle bag. I swung the door open with one hand and held the towel secure with the other.

“How did you get my clothes?” I asked yanking the bag from his hands, embarrassed at the thought of him touching my what-nots.

“I swiped them last night from your apartment when you were passed out. You will be staying in Draíochta until we have a plan to smuggle you and the girls out of the country.” He answered with a shrug.

I started to shut the door, “What, no thank you?” he asked with a crooked grin, and I stopped short. “I thought you said not to waste them on you,” I answered, pursing my lips.

“Well this was a little beyond the job description.” He bit the inside of his cheek to suppress his smile. “You perv,” I huffed, and as I shut the door in his face, he flashed me his very first full, brilliant smile.

I did not understand this guy. One second he acted like he could not stand me, and the next minute he was joking around like we were old pals. I shook it off wanting to get ready quickly and find out if I could speak with Clay’s father.

I opened the duffle bag and inside there was a small stack of clothes and my toiletry bag. Sure enough, resting on top sat some of my bras and underwear. I held up a lacy pink pair with a little jeweled heart on the hip, and when I looked in the mirror my cheeks were flushed.

Seeing that rosy blush in my cheeks reminded me of Liam and the hollow tunnel in my chest where my heart used to be. I quickly looked away.

I picked out some bootleg cut jeans and a white, fitted long sleeve shirt. The v-shaped neckline of the shirt made me feel so naked without the trinity necklace. I had gotten so used to wearing that necklace with its big emerald. I looked to the floor to see where I had thrown it last night and it was nowhere to be found. Oh well, I probably could not stand to look at it anyway.

I had rubbed a towel over my hair until it was nearly dry, being careful around the sealed wound which was still a little sore. I pulled my hair back in a low ponytail, letting the waves fall between my shoulder blades which made my neck feel even barer. I kept my face make-up free. I didn’t know what the Eartha King was going to tell me, and I did not care to look like a raccoon in front of everyone again.

When I came out of the bathroom, Clay was gone. I opened the bedroom door and peered down the hall, not a soul in sight. Okay, now what? I tapped lightly on the door across the hall from Clay’s room, opening it as I knocked, hoping he was in there. The room was empty and light poured through the windows now, revealing another boyhood bedroom, only this one was the exact opposite of Clay’s.

No crazy space murals on the walls, no stars on the ceiling, only a solid tan color graced the walls and a bunk bed with navy blue bedding, crisp and simple. I stepped inside, my curiosity taking over. A small brown desk with a layer of dust on its surface had a few framed pictures resting on top.

I crossed the room and picked up one of the photographs, wiping the cobwebs off the frame. Two young boys were standing in a tree house with big proud smiles on their faces. The younger boy was Clay; his sky blue eyes were unmistakable. The other boy who looked to be at least a few years older had his arm slung around Clay’s neck.

The older boy looked a lot like Aileen with the same brown hair and thin lip line. I squinted and brought the picture closer to my face to get a better look. Something about the older boy was so familiar.

“What the hell are you doing?” Clay’s voice yelled from the door. I flinched almost dropping the picture.

“I…I was looking for you,” I answered nervously, and he crossed the room yanking the picture from my hands.

“I do not want you in here. Do you understand?!” He yelled at me like a father scolding his child. I didn’t think I had done anything wrong. I put my hands up as if I could stop his angry words from penetrating me.

“Listen, it has been a rough couple of days. You do not know what it is like to have someone play hacky sack with your heart. So if you are going to yell at me for nothing on top of everything else, I should just surrender to the Famorii and let them finish me off!” I yelled back and my chest heaved, enraged. I normally never acted this way but Clay had the ability to unearth this side of me, and it especially annoyed me because we had only just met.

“Please spare me your sob story. You don’t even know what pain is.” He hollered back with dark anger. I took a step back startled by his harsh comment, my fists clenched at my sides. I actually raised my fist ready to take a swing at him and his mouth twitched, somehow amused by this. Just as I was about to punch him in the face and wipe that cocky smirk from his lips, Aileen appeared in the doorway.

“What are you two doing in here? I can hear you yelling down the hallway,” she asked with a creased forehead as she approached us. I immediately dropped my balled fist.

“Ari was snooping around,” Clay answered coldly.

“I was not snooping. I was looking for Clay, I knocked, and I saw the pictures. I did not realize it was a crime to look at framed photographs sitting out on a desk.” I looked at Clay with narrowed eyes. Aileen took the picture from Clay’s hand and smiled.

“Oh my goodness, I have not seen this in years,” she sighed and looked at Clay sympathetically, but he would not meet her gaze. He only swallowed hard and crossed his arms.

“Clay dear, go say good morning to your father. I will send Aria in there shortly.” Aileen said with another sigh, and Clay half stomped out the door without a word.

“I am sorry about Clay. He is usually very polite,” She said gently, touching her fingertips to the photograph. I doubted that he was ever polite, but I kept that thought to myself and crossed my arms.

“This is Brody, my eldest son,” she continued, pointing to the boy that shared her features.

“That tree house is still up in the back,” she smiled circling her fingertip around his face.

“The boys built it using only their abilities. They were so proud...” she trailed off biting her quivering lip before she continued.

“You see, Brody…passed away years ago, and Clay has never really gotten over it. They were extremely close, practically joined at the hip,” she explained, and I sucked in a sharp breath. From the pain in her face I could see that Clay was not the only one who was still hurting, and I lowered my eyes to the floor.

I had entered her deceased son’s bedroom, and the layer of dust probably meant that it had not been touched since his death until I barged in. Now I understood why Clay was so upset, although he could have explained it like Aileen instead of snapping at me.

“I am so sorry for your loss,” I sputtered out feeling uncomfortable. I had unknowingly entered a ghost room.

“Thank you, but it was a long time ago. I try not to think of it,” she said, recovering her voice to its calm composure. I felt seriously guilty for stirring the pot.

“You should go to see my husband. He cannot wait to see what a beautiful young women you have turned into,” she said, and my eyes shot back up from the floor. Was I supposed to know this person? I followed her out taking one last look around, bowed my head, and gently closed the door of Brody’s room. She turned to me before continuing down the hall.

“You should know that my husband is very sick. He has good days and bad ones. Unfortunately he was too weak to get out of bed today. I did not want you to be surprised,” she said with some sadness, and she gestured to the large door down at the other end of the hall.

“Make sure you knock before you go in. I will gather your friends and meet you downstairs for breakfast.” She was already heading for the staircase leaving me alone in the hall.

Chapter 31: Prophecy

Aileen had such great warmth to her, keeping me calm, and I looked longingly down the steps. I was nervous to meet the Eartha King by myself, and I hesitantly walked to the other end of the hall. I put my hand on the knob and stopped short to knock when I heard raised voices on the other side.

“Why don’t you ever trust my judgment? I told you those masking spells were not going to cut it!” Clay’s voice sliced through the door like there was no barrier between us.

“As her Keeper you are more in tune with her energy. There was no way to know that Liam could sense it too.” A man with a deep voice answered back.

“You took this way too far. You have no idea what this has been like!” Clay said, sounding completely exasperated.

“Enough!” The deep voice roared with anger rattling the door frame, and I dropped my hand from the knob taking a step backward.

“Whether or not you agree with my orders is irrelevant. If we had not allowed Liam to get close to her, we never would have known his true identity, nor discovered that Adam has been acting as his decoy all these years. Now we know for certain Liam needs her alive or he would have killed her a long time ago, so we can start working on why. Because of my orders we have gathered more valuable information in these past months than ever before, finally giving us an edge. I trusted you enough to bring Aria safely home, and you did.” The man’s words had finality to them but that didn’t stop Clay from grunting at his remark.

“Yes, and as usual, look at who is paying the price,” Clay said, barely audible.

“Clay,” the man’s voice softened a bit, “I know--” his words instantly cut off and I instinctively leaned toward the door straining to hear.

My heart started to pound and I knew that Clay had somehow sensed my presence. I took another step back. A gust of wind whisked across my face as the door flew open. It spooked me and I jumped back almost falling backward to the floor. Through the door I saw Clay with an outstretched hand standing next to a man sitting upright in a huge bed.

My heart pounded faster when Clay’s sky eyes locked on mine. He looked downright pissed. I ripped my eyes from his glare and studied the hall ceiling in a pitiful attempt to pretend I hadn’t been standing there, listening.

“First snooping and now eavesdropping. Why don’t you go ransack my room to finish up the day,” Clay hissed. It seemed like a sarcastic thing to say, but his voice had no trace of humor to it. I looked at him and glared.

“I told you. I wasn’t snooping; that was an accident!” I threw up my hands in frustration that he wouldn’t let it go, while I was careful not to admit that I was, in fact, eavesdropping. He just shook his head with disapproval and I rolled my eyes. The Eartha King looked from me to Clay for a moment, and recognition flashed in his eyes.

He waved me over, “Come here, Aria. Let me have a look at you!” He said excitedly, not at all upset by my eavesdropping like Clay was. I nervously walked into the room to stand next to Clay at his bedside.

The dark wooden bed looked bigger than a King size, with four posts that were intricately carved, reminding me of the twisted vines snaking up the side of this house. Everything was completely different than the other children’s rooms I had seen. His legs were covered by lavish, deep red bedding and he was sitting up with pillows propped behind his back.

Clay walked away as I approached refusing to look at me, and he stood by the wall in his stiff posture guard pose. He was clearly still mad about seeing me in Brody’s room and I felt irritated. It was not as if I did that on purpose.

Clay’s father looked tall, but it was hard to tell exactly when he was sitting up in bed. He had jet black hair just like Clay, but his was neatly trimmed and slicked back with gray peppering the sides. His eyes were dark and his skin was pale, which only made his eyes look darker, like onyx.